Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toner used in electrophotographic systems, electrostatic recording systems, electrostatic printing systems, and toner jet systems. The present invention further relates to a method of producing toner.
Description of the Related Art
There is strong demand that electrophotographic-based image-forming apparatuses exhibit, for example, lower power consumptions and shorter wait times even from current levels. Low-temperature fixability is being required of the toner in order to respond to this demand. Moreover, in order to consistently output high-quality images on a long-term basis even in various use environments, the toner charging performance must be resistant to influences from temperature and humidity and variations in the amount of toner charge must be minimized.
With the goal of achieving low-temperature fixability, polyester resins having an excellent sharp melt property have been used as the binder resin. Moreover, in recent years, the use of crystalline polyester resins and not just amorphous polyester resins has been frequently proposed. In Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2010-26185, the crystallization of a crystalline polyester is promoted and improvements in the storage stability and low-temperature fixability are made through the internal addition of silica particles carrying a fatty acid amide on the surface. Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-309517 proposes the efficient production of a toner having an excellent low-temperature fixability through the use of a crystalline resin provided by the condensation polymerization of starting monomer to which inorganic fine particles have been added.